… Photo by Bill Bishoff Consider the butterfly’s ability to see ultraviolet light. UV light is a spectrum of light between 10 and 400 nanometers that humans and most other animals cannot … light, and they use these amazing gifts in a variety of clever ways. One well-known phenomenon is the relationship between butterflies and nectar-producing flowers. Thanks to special … These patterns can resemble airport landing strips or helicopter pads, advertising, “The food is in here!” The butterflies easily home in on these markings and land on the flower petals. From …
Type: Blog
… architect. The Chinese Garden of Perfect Brightness. Tie them together and the result is part of the intriguing back story of the Chicago Botanic Garden—which starts long before the … of Perfect Brightness] to the west of Peking,” Simonds wrote. The Garden of Perfect Brightness is one of China’s most iconic monuments, built in stages starting in the early 18th century as a … Garden began construction, Rausch recalled, “I have never seen anything quite as bad as that site. Literally, it was burning.” He was referring to the trash, raw sewage, weeds, and abandoned …
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… claws of some creature in a zombie movie? Does it smell bad too? Happy spring! This charmer is the first native wildflower of a Chicago spring: the skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus). A … we walked through the McDonald Woods , the 100-acre restored and protected natural area that is home to at least seven state-listed threatened or endangered plant species. Skunk cabbage’s … and ice. The temperature inside the hood can be 95 degrees hotter than outside. Thermogenesis is the goal for skunk cabbages, titan arums , and other “warm-blooded” plants . The heat …
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… and whimsical gift for mom, grandma, or anyone special. A nice feature of these tiny bouquets is that you can show off the beauty of small flowers that always sing backup to showier blossoms … a little larger than you need, and then trim it to fit. Push it into the cap. If your cap is narrow, like a milk bottle cap, you may want the foam to be above the level of the cap so there is enough room to hold the flowers. Otherwise, trim the top so the foam does not stick up. Add …
Type: Blog
… four “P’s,” if you will—enable many older gardeners to carry on. Keeping active in the garden is what our volunteers love best. There is no better place to start than prevention. Since recovery takes longer as we age, let’s make … of tools with bright colors make them easier to spot in the garden or lawn. Preparation is the next area where the time spent will be repaid handsomely. Containers along a path are an …
Type: Blog
… exposed branch structure of a deciduous tree, naked of its leaves. The ingenuity of leaf loss is protection, preventing branches from bearing too much weight and breaking when it snows. All I need is patience, and I will see the world become green again. Winter pulls back a curtain to reveal … cultivate an appreciation of nature by thinking about what’s known as phenology. Phenology is the study of the timing of the biological events in plants and animals such as flowering, …
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… trains rolling at the Chicago Botanic Garden. A room in the basement of the Regenstein Center is the hive of repair activity for the Model Railroad Garden. There are also ghost trains for Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns . That is why there is a staff of three year-round engineers and 18 seasonal engineers, helped by 66 volunteers, that …
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… escaping. 7. Daddy long legs are spiders. FALSE. A Daddy long legs isn't a spider; although it is in the Arachnid family, it's in a separate order from spiders. All spiders have two body … a Daddy long legs only has one round body part (and just two eyes, see #4). 8. Spider silk is always sticky. FALSE. Spiders can control the feel of the silk they produce—some is sticky, some is non-stick, some is thick and heavy, some is airy and light. 9. Scientists have …
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… found out on the Internet. The Internet knows everything. Lexi: It’s very stinky. Maxwell: It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it. And it is very stinky. Carrie: I happened to see the Facebook post. And we were here every day for Spike … months old, as well as Susan and Jim Osiol of Mt. Prospect. Jamie: We keep coming! Third time is the charm. Susan: I’m obsessed. Our daughter called first thing this morning: ‘Mom, Sprout is …
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… An old friend is back in front of the Visitor Center. The Bloom Cart shows you a curated selection of what’s in … of where to find the five featured bouquets. But there’s more to it than that. The Bloom Cart is meant to introduce you to the Garden–to start conversations, to steer you to unexpected places, to introduce you to new plants (or reintroduce you to old ones). It is an old-school signpost of sorts, made of pine by the Garden’s carpenters, with handwritten …
Type: Blog
